Guys like to complain about how much money women spend - but if you sell a product or service online, it’s time to stop complaining and embrace this fact!

If women spend most of the money, then where are all the women marketers?  Media Most Publications makes a resonating point in its article “Moms Say Advertisers Don’t Get Them”

This group represents 44 percent of the women’s market, but accounts for

• 55 percent of spending on consumer electronics
• 51 percent of spending on food
• 49 percent of spending on health & beauty aids
• 48 percent of spending on home furnishings
• 47 percent of spending on clothing

Further, the article points out that only 20% of moms feel like advertisers connect with them. Wow!

I spent a few days talking with other moms and women that I know, asking them what kind of things they buy online.  When I called one of my friends, she was actually at the Macys.com site at that moment, looking at some “cute tops” that she had just recommended to a friend who shops online on a regular basis.

It makes sense.  Women are responsible for a majority of the household shopping and buying online is the ideal way to get the most selection and the best value and best value.  When I lived in an area that supported it, I spent $200 at Albertson’s grocery store every 2 weeks like clockwork.

Another thing I always buy online, are gifts - everything from a bonsai tree, to game systems, to microwavable house slippers.  It’s not that shopping online is easier - shopping just the first of many responsibilities that come with cross-country gift-giving.  It is so much easier for the company to gift wrap them and send them out than for me to have to wrap the gift, find a box, find packing tape, pack it up hoping it won’t breatk, and wait in line at the post office to mail it.

Most people who aren’t responsible for the household shopping and gift-giving don’t realize just how time consuming this process is.  If you’re thinking “waaa-get over it,” then you’re one of those marketers/retailers that DON’T GET IT. 

The article also states that “most moms–67%–would rather get information from a peer than a celebrity mom.”

This is HUGE.

I think everyone is more likely to make purchases based on a recommendation verses and ad; it’s just that women tend to talk on the phone and in person about things that they purchased more often.
As website visibility becomes more about social optimization as opposed to search engine optimization, appealing to this socially driven market becomes even more critical.  Some things you can do to make your products more appealing to this market are:

• Forming a community around your product with a community message board
• Offering customer generated product reviews
• A “send link to friend” mechanism
• Including A personal  story and face behind the company
• Unique product descriptions that speak to customer benefits, not just detail the specs
• Offering gift wrapping and the ability to include a personalized message

Tags: Business Building //